Chapter Four
Dragon Rising
The Bannered Mare had a warm, inviting atmosphere with its crackling firepit, good food and drink and quiet conversations. I'd rented a room on the top floor and slept late the next morning. The furs and feather mattress were so warm and comfortable that I was reluctant to leave my nest, but hunger and nature's call finally drove me to get up. Yawning, I pulled on my boots and tried to navigate the ladder without falling and breaking my neck. The taproom was quiet at this hour with only Hulda the innkeeper wiping down the bar and the foppish young bard who'd entertained the night before asleep with his head on a table.
"Morning," said Hulda brightly as I approached. "Was the room to your satisfaction?"
"Yes, thank you, slept like a log. Are you still serving food?" I asked, climbing onto a stool.
"Of course, just a moment. Saadia, wake up dear!"
A Redguard woman poked her head around the archway leading to the kitchen.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Our guest is hungry, get some porridge on the go."
Before too long I was enjoying a steaming bowl of porridge with the pot of honey nearby to sweeten it. Saadia also brought fresh braided bread, butter and a light ale to wash it all down. As I ate, Hulda chattered about the local gossip and asked about my travels.
"Helgen?" she repeated when I told here where I'd come from. "Nasty business. Gives me the jitters thinking of one of those monsters swooping down on us here. I'm glad the Jarl has been warned."
Once I had finished my breakfast and Saadia came to take the bowl away, an idea occurred to me.
"Hulda, is there a healer in town?"
"Why yes, Arcadia's Cauldron sells healing potions and herbs, or you can speak to Danica Pure-Spring at the temple of Kynareth. She and the other priests are trained in the Restoration school. Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I've just got a question I need answering. Thanks, I'll probably be back tonight."
A light drizzle dampened my cloak as I stepped outside and crossed the market square. The merchants called out to me as I passed,
"Fresh fruit and vegetable!"
"Finest cuts in Whiterun!"
I wasn't on a quest for cabbages or venison that day so I continued up the stairs to the middle-tier of the town. I'd hurried through the area yesterday on my way to Dragonsreach, but today I paused to consider the tree growing at the centre of the square. It could have been beautiful, if not for the ugly blackened scar that had split it down the trunk. A lightning strike?
"It's a shame isn't it?"
A woman in floor-length, yellow robes approached and also looked mournfully up at the tree.
"I'm sorry?"
"This is the Gildergleam," the woman sighed. "Folks used to come from all over Skyrim to pray beneath Kynareth's gift. Now look at it."
She shook her head then turned to me properly.
"Forgive me, I am melancholy of late. Are you a pilgrim my lady?"
"Not exactly, I'm looking for Danica Pure-Spring. Hulda said the temple is the place to find an experienced healer?"
The woman smiled and bowed her head.
"I am Danica Pure-Spring and we do offer healing services. Please, step inside and we can discuss what ails you in private, if you wish."
Sunlight spilled through the mullion windows set into the peaked ceiling, making the inside of the temple feel light and fresh. I felt a sense of calm wash over me as I stepped over the threshold. A number of stone beds circled a mosaic on the floor and another priest tended a bleeding solider. Danica gestured me into a side room and invited me to sit on a bench opposite her.
"Now then, tell me how I can help, my child."
"Well – this is going to sound strange. I'm not ill, or injured, but, I seem to have lost all my memories."
Danica, consummate professional that she was, did not laugh or even seem surprised. She merely coaxed me for more details. I told her everything that had happened to me so far since Helgen. She listened intently, pursing her lips in thought.
"Curious. I have seen cases of memory loss before, usually when a patient has suffered a head injury or traumatic event. Yet you say you had no injuries when you awoke?"
"Not that I could tell, physically, I felt fine."
"May I examine you to be sure?"
I nodded and Danica circled around the behind me. She tilted my head from side to side and parted my hair to examine my scalp. Next she knelt in front of me and conjured a small light at the tip of her forefinger. She asked me to look directly at it whilst she peered into my eyes.
"Hmm," she mused. "I can't see any sign of concussion and there are no marks on your head. Have you suffered with any headaches since you woke?"
I shook my head and Danica straightened.
"There are spells in the Illusion school that can alter a persons mind. I would need to conduct a more thorough examination to determine if you've been magically effected. Please, follow me."
She led me back into the main room and had me lie down on a free bed.
"This may take a little while, please close your eyes and try to relax. It will not hurt."
She placed her cool hands on either side of my head and I heard a faint ringing noise as her spell took effect. She was right, it didn't hurt at all, in fact it was quite a pleasant sensation. I focused on the sounds of the temple, the groans of the injured soldier, the birdsong outside the tall windows, my own breathing. I almost fell asleep from lying there so long until Danica tapped my shoulder. I started and blinked in the sunlight.
"Did you find anything?" I asked as I sat up. Danica rubbed her eyes and frowned.
"There's certainly something there, but I am no expert in the school of Illusion. I'm sorry, I'm afraid this is beyond my skill to understand."
"Oh." My shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Well, thank you for trying. I'm glad to know I'm not just mad and that there is something odd going on."
"On the bright side, I took the liberty of conducting a full examination and I can report that physically speaking you are healthy as a horse."
I let Danica lead me back outside, pausing to drop a few coins into the collection bowl by the shrine to Kynareth. If Danica was right, and there was something magical going on, I would need to find an expert in Illusion magic to help me. After bidding goodbye to the priestess I stood beneath the stunted Gildergleam, chewing my lip in thought. There was only one magic expert I knew of, and he was in Dragonsreach.
I found Farengar exactly where I'd left him the previous day, pouring over the Dragonstone. Judging by the shadow of stubble around his chin, I doubted he'd been to bed at all. I coughed to get his attention but he didn't seem to hear, so I walked up to the work bench and rapped it thrice with my knuckles. Farengar jumped out of his skin and glared at me.
"What? Who are you? What do you want?" he snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Good morning to you too, master wizard," I said dryly. "Don't you remember me?"
Farengar squinted.
"Oh, yes, the adventurer who brought me the stone."
"Lyra will do. I've come to ask you about magic."
I glanced down at the reams of notes beside the Dragonstone and Farengar snatched them away.
"My research is not for public perusal. Now go away!"
He tried shooing me out of the archway but I stood my ground, frowning.
"Listen, I need your help and given that I'm the one who brought you that stone you wanted so badly, I think you can spare me ten minutes of your time!"
We glared at each other but when it became clear that I would not budge, Farengar gave a great sigh and threw his hand up.
"Very well," he grumbled. "What do you need?"
I gave him a quick rundown of my situation, including what Danica Pure-Spring had said. Farengar listened with a bored expression at first which gradually changed to one of mild curiosity.
"Danica is correct – it sounds like powerful Illusion magic to me. That is not my area of expertise but I do know this, for damage this extensive, you would need some skill in Illusion yourself to truly heal it. I take it you are not a wizard?"
My shoulders slumped.
"I can produce flames and a shield."
Farengar didn't try to hide his snort.
"Then there isn't much to be done. Good day."
"Wait! Can't you teach me magic?"
"I just told you," Farengar said slowly like he was talking to a three-year-old. "I am not an Illusion master. I have a few novice books for sale but that won't give you nearly enough training."
"Well, do you know of anywhere I can find an Illusion master?" I asked in desperation.
Farengar shrugged.
"You will need to journey to the College of Winterhold. But they don't let just anybody in. You'll need to demonstrate at least a Novice level proficiency across a few schools of magic. And there is the entry fee of course. Five-thousand gold if I remember rightly."
I winced. My money purse, which had felt merrily heavy this morning, now seemed light as a feather. But I quashed the feeling of despair. If I managed to make a couple of hundred gold from delving into Bleak Falls Barrow, surely I could scrape together more by looking for other work.
"Ok, how much for a novice spell book?"
Farengar's mouth quirked in some amusement.
"It depends which spell you want. But if you're looking to make some coin, take this one."
He pulled a purple bound tome with a symbol on the front.
"This is the soul trap spell. I'll take fifty gold for it, if you learn the spell and bring me back as many souls as you can. I'll even throw in a couple of petty soul gems."
He tossed a pale lilac gem at me and I fumbled to catch it.
"Uh, right, when you say souls..."
"Animals. Wolves or deer would do. I need them to enchant items."
He did not elaborate so I examined the lilac gem. Up close it seemed more like coloured glass, pretty, but not special. After a moment to consider I nodded and dug fifty gold out of my purse in exchange for the book and a second gem.
"Happy hunting," said Farengar as he returned to his research.
Summer came to a close in Whiterun hold and the farmers worked hard to bring in the hay harvest and begin work on the grain harvest as we entered Hearthfire. I paused on my walk up the hill to the gates of Whiterun and look back to admire the view over the plains. I could hardly believe an entire month had passed since the nightmare at Helgen. I had been so busy running errands for Farengar and other denizens of the hold I had hardly noticed the time slipping by. With a stifled yawn I continued my journey into the city, hoisting the sword I carried more securely over my shoulder.
Farengar's suggestion to journey north to join the college of Winterhold had taken root in my mind and at first I had been confident I could gather the money needed. Work was not difficult to come by for someone with a little magical skill. But I quickly discovered that though earning five-thousand Septims was not so hard, keeping it was another matter. The first thing I had done with the money earned from retrieving the Dragonstone was buy myself some properly fitting boots. Then of course the armourer had pointed out how I needed a decent breastplate to match – and grieves – and bracers – and a helmet. Then there was room and board at the Bannered Mare to pay for, and a bed-roll for when my adventures took me further afield – and map so I wouldn't get lost. Over the past few weeks I had trudged all across Whiterun hold and much of Falkreath hold too, travel was expensive work.
On top of all that – I had discovered learning even a few basic Novice spells cost a small fortune. Farengar paid well for the filled soul gems I brought him, but he charged through the nose for spell books and enchanted items. I'd wheedled a couple of enchanting lessons out of him but my work was too feeble to sell on.
Farengar wasn't my only patron of course, it seemed almost every resident of Whiterun, from beggars to the Jarl himself, had some quest they needed help with. I shielded my eyes from the setting sun as I strolled through the Wind District and towards one of the more modest houses. A Redguard man answered my knock and when he saw the sword on my shoulder his eyes widened.
"I can't believe it! You found it!"
"I had to singe a few bandits, but I got your family sword back," I grinned. I handed the weapon to Amran who beamed.
"Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me, I thought it was gone for good! Here, I must give you your reward."
He hurried inside and I waited on the doorstep as he rummaged in a drawer. He returned with a handful of coins.
"Here, it's not much, not nearly enough really…"
"This is plenty, thank you."
"Won't you let me buy you a drink?"
I shook my head and put the coins away.
"That's very kind but I have to stop by Dragonsreach before it gets too late in the day. See you around, Amran."
As I climbed the steps up to the keep I passed a couple of guards whom I'd grown casually acquainted with over the past few weeks.
"Evening mage, hey, did you hear the news?" asked the younger of the two.
"No, what news?" I asked.
"Merchant from Markarth come in this morning, said he'd seen a big dragon with red horns circling around Fort Sunguard. That's the fourth sighting this week!"
I winced and thanked him for the update before continuing the climb. Rumours about the dragons had been trickling in from merchants, pilgrims and soldiers and speculation was rife. With so many conflicting accounts it was hard to tell how many dragons there were roaming the skies, sometimes it seems like only half a dozen individuals, but then at others it felt like hundreds. What surprised me was how few attacks there seemed to have been, despite everyone's paranoia. Since I spent so much time in Dragonsreach I was confident I had better information than most people, and from the conversations I overheard between Balgruuf and his council, only a handful of outlying farms and isolated caravans had suffered an ambush from the sky. There had been more damage to livestock and property than to human or elvish life.
I couldn't understand it, the huge black dragon that attacked Helgen had had no problem taking on a whole cohort of Imperial soldiers and burning the entire town to the ground.
"Farengar?" I called once I'd entered his study. "I've got that circlet you wanted. Farengar?"
I peered around with a frown and my hands on my hips. Where had that wizard got to? A puff of smoke from behind a silk screen in the corner and a cry of pain made me jump. I hurried over and saw Farengar coughing and waving his hands to clear the acrid smog billowing from a cracked vile on the alchemy table.
"What happened?" I asked, reaching for his burned hand in concern. He snatched it away and bustled past me in a foul temper.
"A minor miscalculation, step aside! I can take care of it myself."
He began clumsily trying to uncork a salve bottle and I rolled my eyes, catching his wrist again despite his protests and murmuring a healing spell. The blisters on Farengar's hand faded in an instant.
"There, you big baby. It was you who suggested I go to Danica for Restoration lessons in the first place!"
Farengar sniffed and returned to the alchemy table to gingerly try and salvage his project.
"Anyway," I continued, disregarding his lack of gratitude and pulling a delicate silver circlet with ruby decorations from my bag. "I have the artefact you wanted, the one with the fire resistance enchantment?"
Farengar glanced over and his eyes lit up.
"Ah yes, excellent, I'll arrange payment later."
He reached for it but I held it away with a frown.
"You said you'd teach me how to disenchant this one, remember?"
The wizard puffed himself up indignantly, no doubt to bluster about how he didn't have time for me right now, when we were interrupted. Irileth hurtled into the study with her hand on her sword hilt and her expression even grimmer than usual.
"Farengar! Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon's been sighted nearby. You should come, too."
She directly these last words to me and I started in surprise. Farengar looked positively delighted.
"A dragon! How exciting! Where was it seen? What was it doing?"
"I'd take this a bit more seriously if I were you. If a dragon decides to attack Whiterun, I don't know if we can stop it. Let's go."
Feeling I had little choice in the matter and curious in spite of myself, I jogged after Irileth through the keep and up the stairs behind the throne room, Farengar puffing along on my heels. Balgruuf was waiting for us on the second floor near the map table with a hold guard lingering nearby. He nodded to us when we entered but spoke to the guard.
"So, Irileth tells me you came from the western watchtower?"
"Yes, my lord," the guard bowed his head.
"Tell him what you told me. About the dragon," Irileth prompted. The guard gulped.
"Uh…that's right. We saw it coming from the south. It was fast…faster than anything I've ever seen."
Balgruuf frowned and rubbed his beard.
"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?"
"No, my lord. It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life, I thought it would come after me for sure."
"Good work, son," Balgruuf sighed and clapped the man on the shoulder. "We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it. Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."
"I've already ordered my men to muster near the main gate," Irileth confirmed, standing straight-backed with a determined gleam in her eye.
Balgruuf nodded approvingly then he fixed me with a serious stare.
"There's no time to stand of ceremony, my friend. I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here."
I wanted to protest, I wanted to say that running for my life hardly counted as experience, but Balgruuf had such a sure look on his face that I just shut my mouth and nodded. Farengar, vibrating with excitement, cut in.
"I should come along. I would very much like to see this dragon."
"No," Balgruuf rebuffed him sharply. "I can't afford to risk both of you. I need you here working on ways to defend the city against these dragons."
Farengar's shoulders drooped and he stuck out his bottom lip like a toddler.
"As you command."
As we were about to leave, Balgruuf put a hand up to his housecarl.
"One last thing, Irileth. This isn't a death or glory mission. I need to know what we're dealing with."
Irileth almost smiled.
"Don't worry, my lord. I'm the very soul of caution."
I found myself swept along with the fierce Dunmer all the way to the main gates where a force of about ten guards were waiting for us already. I stood beside Irileth as she addressed the men.
"Here's the situation. A dragon is attacking the western watchtower."
The men gaped at her and muttered incredulous words.
"You heard right! I said a dragon!" Irileth growled. "I don't much care where it came from or who sent it. What I do know is that it's made the mistake of attacking Whiterun."
One of the bolder men spoke up.
"But housecarl, how do we fight a dragon?"
"That's a fair question," Irileth allowed. "None of us have ever seen a dragon before or expected to see one in battle. But we are honour-bound to fight it, even if we fail. This dragon is threatening our home, our families. Could you call yourselves Nords if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?"
"No, housecarl!" the guards cried, banging their fists on their breastplates. I did however hear one mutter, "We're so dead."
I snorted and the young woman next to the pessimist elbowed him in the ribs to shut up. Irileth studied her force.
"But there's more than honour at stake here. Think of it – the first dragon seen in Skyrim since the last age. The glory of killing is ours, if you're with me! Now what do you say? Shall we go kill us a dragon?"
The guards cheered and we began our quick march out of the city gates and along the western road. Farmers and stable-hands looked up from their work anxiously as the guards marched past but Irileth barked at them to take shelter indoors. What am I doing? This is suicide, I thought as we jogged towards the dark shadow of the western watchtower. I really didn't go in for all this Nord nonsense about glory, could I opt out if I reminded them I was a Breton?
The sun dipped below the horizon as we approached the tower and a chill crept over the land. The tower stood out stark and menacing against the pink and gold sky, its shadow falling behind it twice its actual height. Irileth motioned for everyone to crouch and follow her behind an outcrop.
"No signs of any dragon right now, but it sure looks like he's been here," she muttered. Smoke curled up from the tower and many of the shrubs nearby still crackled with flames. She turned to her company. "I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere. Spread out and look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."
The war party broke off in twos and threes to search the wreckage. I paired off with a raven-haired young woman who seemed tense but not afraid like some of the men. We found two dead guards, one was a blackened husk that reminded me unpleasantly of the scenes at Helgen, the other lay at the base of the tower. His body was broken from being flung against the stones, we could see the stain of blood smeared down the side. I looked around helplessly, desperate to use what little healing I'd picked up from volunteering at the temple.
"Shor's bones, did it kill them all?" my companion muttered.
Suddenly we heard a shout from further up in the tower.
"No! Get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!"
I looked up and saw a guard with a bloody face screaming down at us from an upper window. Irileth drew her bow and knocked an arrow in one swift movement.
"Guardsman! What happened here? Where's this dragon? Quickly now!"
"I don't kn- oh Kynareth save us, here he comes again!"
We all whipped around to the south where the guardsman pointed. I swallowed hard as a shadow swooped low over the horizon and flew towards us faster than any bird.
"Here he comes!" Irileth bellowed. "Find cover and make every arrow count!"
I had no arrows to waste but I sprinted with the guardswoman I was paired with towards a low stone wall and flexed my fingers ready to cast a spell. When I peered over the wall I saw the dragon bank around the tower, make a hairpin turn – boy could it manoeuvre – and dive for a guard who'd been too slow. He screamed as the creature's jaws clamped around him with a crunch. Arrows glanced off thick hide and the dragon tossed the poor man high in the air with a flick of its long neck. He hit the ground with a sickening thud.
I drew back my fist and punched a blast of ice at the dragon but I'd been too slow, it had already rocketed out of range. Other weapons hit their marks, Irileth hurled a spear from a fallen guard which gouged into the dragon's flank causing it to let out an ear-splitting roar of pain and anger. It came around again and opened its maw wide.
"Everyone get down!" I screamed, knowing what was coming next. I threw up the strongest shield I could muster and pressed close to the wall and my companion to keep her under its protection too. We felt the searing heat of the flames but were otherwise unscathed.
"Hey, thanks," the woman panted. "I need to get a better shot!"
She pushed herself away from the wall and leapt onto some fallen masonry to take aim with her bow. She looked horribly exposed, so I hurled myself after her with my shield still at the ready. The dragon made another flyby but this time the woman's arrow punched through its wing and threw it off balance. The dragon landed nearby with an earth-shaking crash and whipped around to bare its wicked teeth at us. My shield wasn't strong enough to protect from the full force of its fire-breath and I screamed as my skin blistered. The guardswoman pulled me down behind cover again and grimaced in pain from her own injuries.
I could hear the other men's battle cries as they engaged the dragon and through tears, I flooded my wounds with Restoration magic. I did the same for the woman but her injuries didn't heal as well as mine. I was already growing exhausted.
"Sorry," I grunted. "That's the best I can do."
"We're still breathing and can still hold swords, that's good enough for me," the woman replied, tossing her bow aside and drawing her blade instead.
She vaulted over the wall and ran at the beast. I hauled myself up to watch and saw the dragon's powerful tail knock three men down, probably crushing their ribs. Then, with a powerful downstroke of its wings, the dragon blew everyone else away too including the guardswoman. It stalked towards her lying stunned on the ground and opened its mouth.
"Stop!" I screamed stupidly, running to place myself between them. The dragon paused.
"Stop?" it repeated, taking me completely by surprise. "You dare order me to stop? You? A joor? Have you all truly forgotten who your masters are?"
I hadn't expected a dragon to speak with the tongues of men and women. I was almost too caught off guard to fling myself aside in time to avoid another jet of fire.
"You crawling, scrabbling, maggot! You presume to speak to me? To even look me in the eye?"
I shot to my feet only to have all the breath knocked out of me by the dragon's claw. Its talons cut into my sides drawing blood. Then it pinned me to the ground and loomed over me, drops of slaver hitting my face. I could see the fire building up deep down its throat and I did the only thing I could. With me free hand I shot a bolt of frost into its mouth.
The dragon made a choking noise and staggered back, loosening its grip on my chest. I wrenched myself free and shot three more spells in quick succession, aiming always for its eyes and mouth. The dragon reeled and then slumped to the ground, life leaving its yellow eyes as frost magic cracked its skull.
Breathing hard, I bent over and leant on my knees whilst the guards picked themselves up and started cheering. Irileth began to approach but then pulled up short and raised her sword again.
"Wait – somethings happening!" she cried.
The dragon's corpse began to glow like hot embers and the scales and flesh burned away. A hot wind rushed directly at me and I staggered back with a cry of fear. I felt compelled to breathe deeply and felt heat and power radiate through my body. The same chanting I'd heard when I touched the mysterious rune in Bleak Falls Barrow reverberated in my head.
Then the sensation faded and I blinked in shock. The corpse no longer burned, all that was left was a smouldering skeleton. I looked around to find everyone staring at me open-mouthed. Then one guard said,
"I can't believe it. You're – Dragonborn!"
"What?" I asked, still shaking.
"In the very oldest tales, back when there were still dragons in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did, isn't it? Absorbed that dragon's power?"
"I – I don't know. I don't know what just happened."
"There's only one way to find out. Try to Shout, that would prove it. According to the old legends, only the Dragonborn can Shout with training, the way to dragons do."
"Shout?" I repeated. I didn't know what he meant but there was clearly some connection between the dragon's power and the word I'd found in Bleak Falls Barrow. I swallowed and glanced uncertainly at everyone before saying,
"Fus."
I was utterly unprepared for the raw power that burst from my lips. Those standing in front of me staggered as an invisible force crashed into them. I stumbled backwards and threw a hand over my mouth. The throat burned – my lungs burned.
"I knew it!" the guard crowed. "That was Shouting what you just did. Magic in the dragon tongue. You are Dragonborn!"
"I don't know how I did that," I croaked, my vocal cords chafing.
"How do you know anything about this, Harald?" the guardswoman I'd fought beside asked.
"My grandfather used to tell stories about the Dragonborn. Those born with the Dragon Blood in them. Like old Tiber Septim himself."
"I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons," said a third guard sceptically and the first rolled his eyes.
"There weren't any dragons then, idiot. They're just coming back now for the first time in forever. But the old tales tell of the Dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their souls. You must be one!"
The guardswoman cocked her head at the housecarl.
"What do you say Irileth? You're being awfully quiet."
Irileth was indeed surveying the scene with an expressionless face.
"Humph. Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on matters you don't know anything about. Here's a dead dragon, and that's something I definitely understand. Now we know we can kill them. But I don't need some mythical Dragonborn. Someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough for me."
The guards all exchanged glances.
"You wouldn't understand, housecarl. You ain't a Nord."
Irileth bristled.
"I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen plenty of things just as outlandish as this. I'd advise you all the trust in the strength of your sword arm over tales and legends. Now come on, there's wounded to tend to and dead to bury."
Some of the guards still looked darkly at their housecarl but most jumped to obey her orders and began to see to their fallen comrades. I wanted to help but all the strength had gone out of me. I slumped on the crisped grass and leant my back against the tower wall. I stared at the dragon bones for a long time but when I lifted my gaze to mountains above, I thought I saw something fly away out of sight.
